I LOVE casseroles! With just a few ingredients (and just a dish or two), you have got a complete meal that is quick and easy to make! Right now Country Crock is celebrating casseroles with their Country Crock Stars contest! For this contest, they want to see YOUR casseroles!

Simply follow this link over to the Country Crock Facebook page. Then just share a photo of your favorite casserole, and share in 100 words how you demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness in the kitchen.

Twelve finalists will be featured on the Country Crock Facebook page. Then those 12 finalists will be voted on by and the public, and the top 3 cooks will win $5000 and a trip for two to New York City!

Besides the fact that casseroles are fast and easy to make, here are a few more reasons I love them!

1. They are so versatile and really allow for you to get creative! Just add an extra ingredient, or substitute an ingredient or two, and you’ve got a completely different recipe.

2. They easily allow for you make a meal that has servings of vegetables, meat, dairy, and a starch.

3. You can cook them for any size gathering. If it’s just you and your spouse, you can cut a recipe in half or have left overs for the week. And if you have a large family or a party to cook for, you can double your recipes.

4. Casseroles are also great leftover meals and most can easily be stored in the freezer for you to enjoy later.

To show you how easy it is to get creative in the kitchen with casseroles, today I’m sharing a recipe that I just invented for this assignment. I used my favorite casserole recipe, which is Chicken Poulet, and I just added a couple of ingredients to it, namely a package of chicken flavored rice and a can of mixed vegetables. And I used these in place of the bottom layer of my Poulet Recipe (which is usually stuffing mix). And I also threw in some Cream of Chicken Soup, instead of the usual Cream of Mushroom that goes in my Poulet. The result was an absolutely fabulous tasting meal, if I do say so myself!

Recipe for Chicken Stuffing & Vegetable Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 5.6 oz package flavored rice (I used Knorr, in the chicken flavor)

2 cups water

1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon Country Crock

1 can mixed vegetables

3 cans chicken, drained

6-8 spoonfuls mayonnaise

1 box stuffing mixed

1 cup chicken broth

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1-2 cups cheddar cheese

Directions: Using 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of Country Crock, make the rice according to directions on the box.

While the rice is cooking, open three 10.5 oz cans of white meat chicken. Drain the broth off the chicken and in to a measuring cup. Set broth aside.

Pour chicken into a small bowl. Spoon mayonnaise into chicken and mix with a fork, mashing chucks of chicken into shreds. The consistency should be like that of a chicken salad. Set aside.

Once your rice is done, drain the water off your can of mixed vegetables and add vegetables to rice mixture. (You may also use frozen or fresh veggies if you prefer.) Pour rice & vegetable mixture in to 11×13 casserole dish. Spread chicken mixture over rice.

Open package of stuffing mix. Add one cup of chicken broth and a 1/2 cup (or one stick) of Country Crock. Stir till all bread crumbs are moist. Pour into casserole dish, over the chicken layer.

Next open two cans of cream of chicken soup, and spread over stuffing layer. Finally cover with shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

*Great for a make ahead meal and leftovers set up great in your fridge!*